


i'm caught in a storm

by Dreamy_Ideal



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Gift Fic, M/M, or modern fantasy I suppose
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2018-12-24
Packaged: 2019-09-25 19:08:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17127056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dreamy_Ideal/pseuds/Dreamy_Ideal
Summary: It's going to rain, but rain can't stop them, because it's date number 5.





	i'm caught in a storm

**Author's Note:**

> This is a gift fic for J, who requested sukai on a swan boat but it starts pouring. I think I took too many liberties with this lmao but I hope you like it~

Jongin looked up at the sky and frowned. He lifted a hand to shoo them away, but the soft grey clouds ignored his gesture and continued to creep along the sky across the city. The weather wasn’t supposed to turn until much later in the day. He supposed the disappointment he felt was his trade off for trusting any information that he got from his phone.

“I’ll give you a chance to make this up,” he said to the device. He whisked away a notification that complained about his lack of battery power along with another one that politely reminded him to have some water. Jongin sent a message to Junmyeon earlier to see if maybe they should cancel their date because of the impending weather change.

_Message failed to deliver_

Jongin groaned. That would have been good to know when he sent the thing two hours ago. When were they going to decide that society gave cell phones a good try but maybe messages would be better handled by a dedicated team of squirrels and moths. Jongin pressed the call button by Junmyeon’s name.

_Service has been disconnected due to nonpayment--_

He knew he forgot to do something when he was leaving his apartment and it wasn’t just brushing his teeth. Well if he could only remember to do one or the other he was glad he recalled what he did. He gave another, louder, minty fresh groan as he shoved his phone in his pocket. There was still an hour and some change before they were supposed to meet on the other side of the city for their date; maybe he could catch Junmyeon before he left work.

At least one thing went his way. Jongin may have been severely out of breath when he got there but Junmyeon was still at the scent shop, arranging bottles of perfume behind the long counter. Jongin had to lean up against the counter to huff and catch his breath again. His heart drummed against his chest hard. He was a little bit too confident about his running abilities. A lot a bit too confident.

“Jongin! Hey! What are you doing here? I thought we were meeting at the bakery.”

“Rain,” Jongin wheezed. “Should we--” He really needed to do more cardio. Maybe he’d let Minseok drag him along the next time he went hiking. Jongin took another deep breath, focusing on a gold bottle of perfume beneath the glass countertop. “Go another day?”

“Oh, is it? I haven’t been outside all day. You could have just sent me a message though.”

“Phone died.”

“Still, you didn’t have to run. Here, have some water.”

Jongin could see the reflection of the bottle Junmyeon set down. He reached out for it. “Thank you.”

Junmyeon was smiling at him when Jongin looked up. His hair was swept so Jongin could see the flower decals that were stuck to the side of his face. They sparkled. Jongin realized he never said hello.

“Hi Junmyeon.”

“Hey Jongin.”

Jongin took a swallow of the water Junmyeon gave to him. “It’s going to rain soon. Should we go out another day?” Junmyeon pouted. His lips sparkled too.

“I was looking forward to seeing you today,” Junmyeon said. Jongin’s heart thumped brightly.

“Me too.” This was, after all, date five. Jongin stayed up all night thinking about it. 

Junmyeon smiled again. “Then is it okay if we still go out?”

Jongin wanted to. “I don’t want it to be ruined by the rain,” he said. He could hear the faint song of the clouds off in the distance.

“Maybe it won’t rain until later?” Junmyeon suggested.

Jongin shook his head. “No, they’re starting to sing. It will be soon.”

“Okay. I know what we can do.” Junmyeon walked to a door behind the counter. “Chanyeol! I’m leaving!” The door opened and Junmyeon caught the bag that was tossed out at him. 

“What are we going to do?”

“It’s a surprise.”

\--

The surprise was Junmyeon’s lake.

Jongin had heard about other fayes having something of a ‘room’ out in the world but it was his first time seeing one. No one in his family had one and after hearing about the work it took to set one up Jongin’s friends found it simpler to rent an apartment human style.

He turned around to look at the woods that Junmyeon led him through, wondering if they disappeared. They were still there but the trees had become so dense that Jongin could no longer see any sign of the world they left behind or a hint that they might still be in it. He then looked up into the sky. The light of dusk that they left behind had become a midnight sky, a full moon hanging right in the center of it.

“It’s pretty,” Jongin said as he lowered his head to look at the lake again. It had an almost purple glow to it. “When did you make this place?”

“Oh, I didn’t make it. Not really.” Junmyeon smiled sheepishly. “It’s more fuss than getting an apartment. It’s a hand me down from my older brother. But no rain right?” Jongin nodded.

“I don’t hear any clouds.” He couldn’t hear the stars either. Such a lovely quiet place.

“What does a cloud song sound like?” Junmyeon asked him. Jongin frowned.

“Really off-key. And they’re not interested in fixing it. Can’t you hear the water?” Jongin had only ever known other air faye but he assumed that all varieties of faye could hear something. Junmyeon shook his head.

“I’m glad I caught. I think water would nag. Or be really creepy. _Drink me, drink me eight times a day._ ”

Jongin chuckled at Junmyeon’s squeaky impression of water. He watched as Junmyeon set down his bag and lowered himself onto his knees in the grass at the lakeside. Hopefully they weren’t going to go swimming; Junmyeon would have told him if--

Jongin went quiet after Junmyeon dunked his head in the water. It took maybe ten seconds for him to come back up. Jongin stepped back to avoid a spray of water when Junmyeon shook his hair out. Before Jongin could ask if he was hot or something the center of the lake bubbled up and broke into the silence.

“That’s a swan,” Jongin said when he process what began to float in their direction. A giant black swan with a big red beak.

“That’s Billy.”

“You named your sawn Billy?”

“He named himself Billy.”

Billy came to a stop at the edge of the lake. Junmyeon kicked off his shoes climbed onto him without any hesitation. He then held his hand out for Jongin. “Is this okay?” He asked the swan.

Squawk.

“That could be a yes. He could also be hungry. He’s kind of like my own off key singing cloud I don’t really understand him. Take off your shoes though.”

“I understand the clouds,” Jongin corrected as he slipped out of his shoes and took Junmyeon’s hand. Once he sat down Billy slowly slid away from the lakeside. Jongin looked down into the water. It sparkled like Junmyeon when he had on his work makeup. Junmyeon kept a hold on Jongin’s hand. Jongin’s entire being buzzed. “They’re just tone deaf and stubborn.”

“That sounds exactly like Billy.”

Squawk.

“Please Billy we’re on a date.”

Date five specifically. It was first kiss date. He never had a ‘first kiss date’ rule before and he doubted he’d have one after Junmyeon. It was something he blurted out on their first date, so caught up in how handsome and infuriatingly lame Junmyeon was that he was nervous that if Junmyeon tried to kiss him he’d bite Junmyeon’s tongue or lose the lunch he was treated to.

Jongin thought at the time that postponing it would help but it ultimately made him more nervous. He got to know Junmyeon too much during the dates in between their first and now. He spent too much time looking at him. His smiles had too much of an effect, he sparkled too much in the fake moonlight of his hand me down faye space. Jongin was losing his concentration. Junmyeon’s voice still filled the space between them but Jongin couldn’t remember anything that they talked about.

“Can we kiss now? I can’t focus.”

Junmyeon looked at him without reply for a second. Then he sat up. Jongin sat up as well, crossing his legs and folding his hands into his lap. “You can’t focus?” Jongin shook his head. “You’ve been thinking about kissing this whole time?”

“All week,” Jongin corrected. He was a little annoyed with himself in retrospect. To spend all that time thinking about kissing. His week felt like a filler chapter in a romance novel. “I shouldn’t think about kissing anyone this much.” Junmyeon laughed.

“I agree. Have you figured out what you’re going to do?”

“Huh?”

“If the kiss goes bad. Have you thought about how you’re going to let me down gently?”

“I haven’t thought about you doing it badly.” If anything Jongin was worrying about the kiss going too well, his nerves aside. He was already thinking about Junmyeon a lot. What if kissing him didn’t really stop the rush of thoughts? What if he just kept glittering brighter and brighter until there was nothing in his head but Junmyeon? “But I wouldn’t let you down gently.”

Junmyeon laughed again. “Really? I’m nervous now.”

“Not as nervous as I am.”

Heart racing body humming nervous. Junmyeon turned to face him fully and Jongin closed his eyes. Seconds turned to hours turned to lifetimes. Kissing shouldn’t be this much. Liking a faye shouldn’t be this much, but Jongin--

He heard the song before he felt the drops of water on his face. Jongin opened his eyes to see Junmyeon looking up. Jongin looked up as well to see the little gray cloud hanging over them. The song gets louder and the drops of water become heavier and more rapid. Billy sqwaks, shifting as though he wants to take off.

“This is new,” Junmyeon says before Billy lurches forward. Junmyeon lost his balance, tumbling into the purple lake. Jongin falls right behind him, above the surface of the lake just long enough to see the rain become torrential.

\--

“I can...replace that.” Junmyeon’s voice was soft, almost apologetic. 

Jongin stared at the dead phone he dug out of his soaking wet jean pocket before he shrugged and tossed it over the banister into the stairwell of his apartment. The sound it made when it finally hit the first floor was satisfying. Junmyeon didn’t even look shocked about it. “I’m sorry about the rain,” Jongin said. “I didn’t think I could do that. I guess I was nervous.”

That could have explained why the storm clouds came much earlier than the weather app predicted: his nerves. Jongin still believed it was mostly because he couldn’t trust anything on his phone. Junmyeon shook his head. “It’s fine. It’s not the worst date I’ve taken someone on, not even close.” Jongin smiled at the reassurance, fiddling with his keys. “You don’t have to worry. We can kiss whenever you want to. I’m not in a rush. I just like hanging out.”

“But then I’ll be thinking about you all the time.”

“Is that so bad? I think about you a lot too.”

Jongin jammed his key into the door, ducking his head to hide his smile. “I’ll text you.”

“You--you can’t.”

"Oh yea." Jongin looked towards the banister. He forgot the phone was good for that one thing, at least. "Maybe I can send a message by squirrel or something."


End file.
